Sunday, September 3, 2006

Catch that Train!



The long weekend gave us a great opportunity to check out more of our new surroundings. As a result, the Steingruebl clan found its way to a beautiful park in Los Gatos.

We are constantly amazed by the parks around here. For one thing, the grass is usually spongy and not all trampled down. (It also has fewer of the bright green patches that say “doggies visit here! Often!) The playgrounds we have seen have been well designed and well cared for. Elise loves the prevalence of sand for playing. Reeeeaaaaalllly loves it!

So, today’s choice was Oak Meadow Park. The playground is amazing and has lots to do. Elise’s favorite occupation is of course stacking wood chips on any available surface, though her daddy managed to persuade her do to some sliding as well.

There were places to picnic everywhere, and we chose a spot on top of a little hill just to the side of the big grassy area. We heard some kind of strange bird yelling at us while we ate lunch, but have no idea what it could have been. Gotta get that CA bird book soon...

The crowning glory of the day was a ride on the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad. It runs an actual, 100-year-old miniature steam engine. Volunteers handle a lot of the work of keeping the thing running, which might explain why it only cost $2 per person (with 2 year olds and under free) for a 10 minute ride! The tracks go over bridges and up a hill-it’s amazing.

Of course, the best part of the whole thing was seeing the enormous grin all over Elise’s face for the entire ride.

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